Preparation

Make stew

In heavy, large saucepan over moderately high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onion, carrot, and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add beef and sauté, stirring occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add wine and thyme, stir well, and bring to boil. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, then lower heat to moderately low, cover, and simmer, stirring every 15 minutes, until beef is tender, about 2 hours.

SELECT LATEST REVIEWS

So after reading everyone else's reviews I made a couple of changes to the recipe....I used 3 lbs of stew meat, which was what I got from my store,,,in the sauteing of the vegetables I added in some diced portabella mushrooms....after I cooked the veg, i removed them and browned the beef in 3 separate batches....before I added everything back in, I de-glazed the pan with some lea and perrins....I did add in some beef base and the recommended amount of wine...I had on hand purple potatoes which were added along with both rosemary and thyme.

Jfaber from Durham NC / 10.19.14

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All I had was ground beef tonight so I used that. It is a great quality beef from a local organic farm so I think that helped. But, I made a Tuscan "chili" and served it over polenta. It was turned out great. I think that it will be even better tomorrow. And... with the ground beef it was an even faster dinner!

AllureChocolatier from Wisconsin / 03.23.14

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Excellent recipe! Left out the thyme, used 14.0z. diced tomatoes, used water instead of stock.. perfect gravy over polenta!!!

lannysikes from Santa Cruz, Ca. / 12.09.13

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I made this recipe last night and I thought it was amazing with a few changes. I browned the meat in batches 1st and the set aside. Then sauted the veggies plus garlic and equal parts oil and flour creating a roux, returned the meat. I used canned tomatoes instead of fresh. In the last 30 minutes as other suggested added baby bella mushrooms. increased the salt and pepper and other added a bit of granulated garlic. Served over mashed potatoes. It was so delicious!!

jmr0986 from Los Angeles, CA / 01.04.12

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Cooking time says 15 minutes.... but it also says simmer 2 hours. Can we fix that?

A Cook / 12.06.11

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I thought this was good. Based on
previous reviews, I made a few basic
modifications. Because there were
several comments that this stew was
too thin, I lightly dredged the beef
in flour. I also browned the meat
first, took it out and then cooked
the vegetables. Lastly, there
aren't any fresh tomatoes worth
eating or cooking with right now, so
I used canned (drained tomatoes).
Oh, and I did add some parmesan to
the polenta while it cooked. I
thought this was good, husband
thought it was great. I'll make it
again...

A Cook / 12.04.11

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Good but not great.
I felt it was a
little bland and
that I could have
used a little less
red wine. Perhaps a
bay leaf and some
herbes de provence
would have helped.
In regards to the
thickness issue- I
spooned out half a
cup of broth and
mixed a tablespoon
of flour into it,
then poured it back
into the pot. That
made the consistency
perfect. I'm not
disappointed with
this recipe but I
feel there may some
better recipes out
there.

A Cook from Orange County, CA / 06.07.11

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I think this is a very good stew recipe. I used 1lb pork shoulder and 1lb chuck. Also used Compari tomatoes (6). Added just red wine, a bottle, who measures! Did it in the pressure cooker for 45 min. Took out the tomato skins and strained the liquid. I reduced the liquid and added some wondra flour to thicken. The reduction really intensified the sauce and was a drop down winner. I also put a few bacon crumbles on the polenta for texture. Don't use the instant polenta the real deal is too easy to use and tastes infinitely better.

A Cook from Chicago / 04.01.11

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I should have read the reviews before I started this recipe or at least relied on my own intuition. The meat wouldn't brown, but the vegetables sure did. So I threw in the wine and thyme, then the tomatoes. I will just have to see how it works out. Bad Italian that I am, I'm not a fan of polenta. I'm thinking about adding fingerling potatoes. Smells good!

lthornton from N. Truro, MA / 02.15.11

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I will use water for the polenta next time, the stock seemed to overwhelm the flavor of the polenta. otherwise we absolutely loved it.